Mustang in the Mississippi: Convertible recovered after rolling into river off Grafton boat ramp

Mustang in the Mississippi: Convertible recovered after rolling into river off Grafton boat ramp

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GRAFTON — A car rolled into the river Tuesday morning when a Godfrey man apparently left his car in reverse while at the Grafton public boat ramp, authorities said.

An unoccupied 2014 Ford Mustang convertible rolled underwater at approximately 9 a.m., Grafton police officer Richard Gillespie said. The driver, Steven Raymond, of Godfrey, had already exited the vehicle and was walking on the ramp when the vehicle became submerged.

“The guy thought he parked his car at the top of the boat ramp, apparently he had it in reverse,” Gillespie said. “He’d walked down toward the ramp. His car he cherished very much, according to all the people I talked to, washing and waxing it every day.”

Southside Auto Towing, of Jerseyville, and Brad Rucker Diving Services, based in Grafton, helped recover the sports car and cleared the scene at approximately 1 p.m. Tuesday.

“It took a little bit for the diver to put chains around the vehicle, it was down in the muck and mire,” Gillespie said. “I understand, at the end of the ramp, in the concrete, there’s a hole, ‘wallered’ out by the river current, that kind of drops off there. Apparently, part of the vehicle ended up in that. The diver had to wrap chains around the tire and rims to distribute the weight and he had to re-enter the water to do that.”

Everything was recovered from the vehicle; no gasoline or motor fluids leaked into the river.

“For the most part, unless they’re damaged, those particular parts are pretty well contained,” Gillespie said.

The incident did not qualify as a traffic accident; there were no injuries, he noted.